Irfanullah arfeen

PAKISTAN SOCIETY OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMISTS

IMPACT OF E-GOVERNANCE ON THE
ECONOMY OF PAKISTAN –
THE REVOLUTIONARY PLAN

Muhammad Irfanullah Arfeen
Ph.D Student
Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering
Islamabad
economist_21@hotmail.com

NINTEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
January 13-15, 2004

PAKISTAN INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
P.O.Box 1091, Quaid-I-Azam University Campus
Islamabad (Pakistan)

ABSTRUCT

This study analyzes and examines in detailed the effect of e-governance on the economy

of Pakistan. This research also focuses on the way by that each citizen can contact the

government through a website where all forms, legislation, news and other information

will be available. In near future most transactions can be done at an ATM, by mail or by

the Internet, which has saved banks enormous costs. In other words, they do more work,

with less people, in less time and with less and smaller offices. According to the United

Nations Report 2001 on E-commerce and development, e-government is still in its

infancy all over the world. This research also explain the life cycle and evaluate the

position of the government of Pakistan in this regard. Also, define the revolutionary

steps, which the Government of Pakistan is taking for transition from manual to IT

culture. It can cause the great effect on the economy and in the near future Pakistan can

be the role model for developing countries if the implement e-governance in appropriate

way. In the perception of the majority of people in Pakistan: the e-governance is

electronic delivery of government services to the people whereas the potential for e-

governance is beyond electronic delivery, which is explained in detail in this research

paper. There is also SWOT analysis to judge the challenges, which Pakistan is facing as a

developing nation as well as weight rating to observe it in the scenario of Pakistan.

1

INTRODUCTION

It has been noticed that the public sectors of our country, have complaints that, the

existing system is cumbersome and outdated. This result in widespread malpractice and

inefficiency thereby causing public dissatisfaction and frustration. Government can

improve the system as well as economic conditions of our country, by focusing on e-

governance.

Nowadays, the wealth of a nation is not judged by its physical assets. It is determined by

the technological gaps between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. No leap-frogging of the

type witnessed in South East Asia is possible without increasing technological

sophistication being built into the production structure. Information Technology today

drives the technological and economic advancement of the developed as well as emerging

economies.

We can say that the e-governance would be the first step toward modernizes

governmental administrative structures. The transition from manual to IT culture will

require government agencies to review their current system, process and work procedures

and consequently modify or redesign them to suit electronic service delivery.

2

The challenge of transformation and the increasing need to modernize administrative

practices and management systems has become a major goal to Governments Worldwide.

This is more so in the last one-decade and especially the last four years in Pakistan.

As we know very well, government in the developing nations like our country costs too

much, delivers too little, and is not sufficiently responsive or accountable. E-Governance

offers a new way forward, helping improve government processes, connect citizens, and

build interactions with and within civil society.

They use the Internet. Government, as a collector and source of information, could follow

this trend, to serve its customers (citizens and businesses) better and to save costs by

making internal operations more efficient. If we look at global level, we shall know that

there are 15.7 million people go online each day. Internet is the fastest growing

technology which took only 5 years to achieve 50 million users whereas TV took 13

years and Radio took 38 years.

ADMINISTRATION REFORMS

One big reason for improper process is the interference of politicians in the public sector.

We do not have any proper system of accountability. Concept of monitoring and

evaluation of project is only on papers.

3

It is better to introduce information and
e-Governance
communication technologies which can deployment 1

make a significant contribution to the
Think Vision
achievement of good governance goals. This Big

'e-governance' can make governance more 3
Scale Strategy
Fast
efficient and more effective, and bring other

benefits too. We will think big, we will start
2 Start SMART
small and building up incrementally. Small projects

Implementation approach Relative time

I believe that the use of electronic technologies can help to reverse that decline in trust,

by making governments more open and accessible. As governments put more information

about policies, programs and services on line, they become more transparent. Secrecy

breeds distrust, and this increased transparency should have a double-edged impact: it

should help citizens to appreciate the challenges governments face, and it should also

encourage public officials to make decisions in a manner that withstands public scrutiny.

E-governance enable multiple means of service delivery to customers while upgrading

the quality of service provision. Customer will not only have a wider choice but will also

be able to access these services at any time and from any location. These new service

delivery characteristics will fortify efforts to provide more customer oriented services.

4

PUBLIC SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

Nowadays this is very burning issue and the government is loosing millions due to

inefficiency of public sector and poor quality of work. This sector still has less research

and become outdated after the new development.

When people talk about the public sector they give the interesting remarks. People are

very cynical about the public sector. Everyone talk about the inefficiency, delays and

their response of the public sector, which to some extent seems to be true.

If we want to achieve good governance, we have to implement e-governance. This

technology involves access to government information and services 24 hours a day, 7

days a week, in a way that is focused on the needs of our citizens and businesses. E-

Government relies heavily on agency use of the Internet and other emerging technologies

to receive and deliver information and services easily, quickly, efficiently, and

inexpensively.

To provide access to information and services is only the initial stage in e-Government.

In order to make Government truly "citizen-centered," agencies will have to work

together to consolidate similar functions around the needs of citizens and businesses.

5

E-DEMOCRACY

Broadly, Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy) refers to the processes and structures that

encompass all forms of electronic communication between Government and the Citizen.

In a narrower perspective, eDemocracy refers principally to the processes and structures

that encompass all forms of electronic communication between the Electorate and the

Elected.

REVOLUTIONARY STEPS

It is common to hear predictions that e-government will transform our political

institutions, revitalize our democracies and fundamentally change the relationship of

governments to their citizens. And there is little doubt that it can have profound, perhaps

revolutionary effects.

We can revolutionize the government activities and processes by using the electronic

means. It is time to take the revolutionary steps for achieving the goals of good

governance by implement e-governance.

E-Governance lies at the heart of two global shifts: the information revolution and the

governance revolution. Both shifts are changing the way society works and the way that

society is governed. They bring the opportunity for not just incremental but radical gains

in efficiency and effectiveness. But, at present, any such benefits are accruing to the few,

not the many.

6

It is the few who have access to ICTs, to digital information and knowledge, and to

the benefits of reform in governance. We can thus talk of an 'e-Governance Divide' that

is increasingly separating developed and developing countries, and elites and ordinary

citizens within developing countries.

This growing divide must be addressed if the poor in developing countries are not to fall

even further behind. We must seize the digital opportunity for governance and seize it

now.

FIRST STEP TOWARD E-GOVERNANCE:

In October 2002 the Electronic Government Directorate (EGD) was established in

pursuance to a decision of the federal cabinet. EGD is a dedicated wing of Ministry of

Information Technology. It has been established to perform the following functions:

Preparation of e-government projects.

Implementation of federal level e-Government projects approved by government.

Preparation of standards, guidelines.

Providing technical support to the Federal, Provincial and District departments.

The main objectives which the government would like to achieve out of the

implementation of this programme are:

i. Improve services delivery to citizens

7

Reduction in the cost of service to citizen by providing government

information to the public through a government portal

Online availability and submission of all forms of the Government of

Pakistan

Online availability of information on jobs, tenders, official gazette

notifications etc. for the convenience of the public

Facilitation of payment of utility bills and taxes

Ensure transparency in government-public interactions

ii. Improve the internal efficiency of government operations of all departments of the

government so that government functionaries become well versed in the use of

ICT to provide service in a speedy, efficient and transparent manner

Improvement in productivity of government employees by automating

routine functions of the government

Reduction in cost of operation of government in the long term by reducing

time and effort spent in information search, retrieval and dissemination

within the government

Reduction in the cycle time for responsiveness to citizens

Creation of synergies between various government functions through

deployment of IT enabled applications and systems;

8

Enablement of quick adoption of IT in government through enhancement

of skills of government employees;

The vision for implementation of electronic government has been broadly identified

as follows:

To provide services to citizens by using ICT:

To identify services that can be delivered electronically

To deliver some services online in every year

Use of ICT in government offices so as to provide services to citizens more

efficiently:

All government ministries/divisions/departments to be networked

gradually

All major functions in every ministry/division to be automated gradually

All official communications to be done by e-mail in a phased manner

All government officials to be made IT literate

At present the main assignment of the EGD is to maintain the first ever web-portal

of Pakistani government (www.pakistan.gov.pk). Around 11000 pages are available on

above government web portal contains about 500 plus download forms. They are

working to develop software by that all the information will be viewable in both Urdu

9

and English languages at the click of a button so that they would be able to save lot of

cost and avoid the duplication.

ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT DIRECTORATE (EGD):

In my view establishment of EGD is just like building a new stool for government to sit

on with three legs making it extremely sturdy and difficult to tip over.

The three elements are:

•Changing the process by which government does its work

•Changing the culture or behavior of those doing the work

•Using Communication and Information Technology to enable both of these changes.

All three elements need to be present if want to implement the e-governance. Take away

any one element and the stool will fall over. For instance changing work processes and

culture without using IT produces less than optimum results. Using IT to enable process

change leads to disappointment with the outcomes when the culture prevents the changes

from taking effect. And using IT and cultural change programs only ignores the need to

shift work processes from a top down orientation to one that focuses on customers and

workers. The process begins by getting very clear on what new future you want to create

10

and how you want to do that. This statement of a desired future needs to be captured in a

vision statement, which describes what you want to create and a list of values or

behaviors.

LIFE CYCLE:
Government
The four stages
G2G
Federal Gov.

G2C G2G G2B Business
In the embryonic stage, e-
Citizen Provincial Gov.
governance means being present on G2G

the web, providing the public (G2C

& G2B) with relevant information. The format of the early government websites is

similar to that of a brochure or leaflet. The value to the public is that government

information is publicly accessible; processes are described and become more transparent,

which improves democracy and service. Internally (G2G) the government can also

disseminate static information with electronic means, such as the Internet.

In the growth stage, the interaction between government and the public (G2C & G2B)

is stimulated with various applications. People can ask questions via e-mail, use search

engines, and download forms and documents. These save time. In fact the complete

intake of (simple) applications can be done online 24 hours per day. Normally this would

only have been possible at a counter during opening hours. Internally (G2G) government

organisations use LANs, intranets and e-mail to communicate and exchange data.

11

With stage three, the complexity of the technology is increasing, but customer (G2C &

G2B) value is also higher. Complete transactions can be done without going to an office.

Examples of online services are filing income tax, filing property tax, extending/renewal

of licenses, visa and passports and online voting.

Phase three is made complex because of security and personalization issues. E.g. digital

(electronic) signatures will be necessary to enable legal transfer of services. On the

business side, the government is starting with e-procurement applications. In this phase,

internal (G2G) processes have to be redesigned to provide good service. Government

needs new laws and legislation to enable paperless transactions.

The fourth stage is the when all information systems are integrated and the public can

get G2C & G2B services at one (virtual) counter. One single point of contact for all

services is the ultimate goal. The complex aspect in reaching this goal is mainly on the

internal side, e.g. the necessity to drastically change culture, processes and

responsibilities within the government institution (G2G). Government employees in

different departments have to work together in a smooth and seamless way. In this phase

cost savings, efficiency and customer satisfaction are reaching highest possible levels.

12

In Pakistan, e-governance is near to complete the embryonic stage and very soon it will

enter in growth stage. If government takes appropriate and revolutionary steps to

implement the e-governance, there is no doubt that we can become a role model for

developing countries.

EGD Projects Implemented

I- Citizen Online - provision of services through GOP portal

II - Salary Disbursement through ATMs

III - IT Skills Training programme for Probationary Government Officers

IV - Process Mapping for improving efficiency at Ministry of Science & Technology

V- Survey of Federal Divisions for LAN & Hardware Requirements

EGD Projects Under Implementation

I- E-Communication & LAN at Prime Minister's Secretariat and Eight Divisions of

Federal Government

II - Project "Lexicon, Machine Translation & Text-To-Speech Urdu Software". It is

being implement by EGD; the contract has been awarded to NU-FAST (Lahore)

III - Access to Statutory/Case Laws at District Bar Associations

13

IV - Updating & Upgradation of Services & Information Web Portal:

EGD New Projects for 2003-04

I- Technical Support to IT Departments of Provinces and Azad Jammu & Kashmir

II - Electronic Office at Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT)

III - E-Enabling of Majlis-e-Shoora (National Assembly of Pakistan and Senate of

Pakistan)

Technical Support Provided By EGD

So far EGD has rendered support on the following projects:

i. Automation of National Savings Centres

ii. A website of Pakistan's missions abroad

iii. Access to Justice Programme

iv. Disbursement of Zakat

v. Installation of LAN in the Planning & Development Division

vi. Enhancing IT Training Capacity at Pakistan Administrative Staff College (PASC)

All the information regarding taxation, utility bills and rules and regulations of different

government departments would be available at the portal, which would help the public at

large. Links are being developed between the State Bank of Pakistan and other

commercial banks after which the performance of the banks will improve.

14

GOOD GOVERNANCE REFORMS

The majorities understanding of e-governance is electronic delivery of government

services to the people whereas the potential for e-governance is beyond electronic

delivery of government services to the people. E-Governance in its real sense is the use of

information and communication technologies to support good governance. The areas

noted e-administration, e-citizen and e-services initiatives, and the government-related

components of e-society together represent a Networked Government model for e-

governance, the overall aim of which is to more effectively utilize ICTs (Information

Communication Technology) for good governance reforms. These new connections

strengthen existing relationships and build new partnerships within the civil society.

It is essential to know that there are few who have access to ICTs, to digital information

and knowledge, and to the benefits of reform in governance. We can thus talk of an 'e-

Governance Divide' that is increasingly separating developed and developing countries,

and elites and ordinary citizens within developing countries.

However, the potential remains largely untapped to date due to poor human,

organizational and technological infrastructure and because of the inappropriate

approaches taken by donors, vendors and the government. It is essential to explore the

15

possibilities, challenges, and the prospects of implementing an ICT based governance

mechanism.

source: website of EGD

SWOT ANALYSIS

In this section, the challenges of e-governance for Pakistan as a developing country is

analyzed. Four SWOT-analyses are presented, with a focus on political, social, economic

and technological aspects.

16

Economic aspects related to e-governance are funding, cost-savings, business models, e-

commerce, spin-offs of e-governance.

Economic aspects
Strengths Weaknesses
E-governance argument for external Investors
funding Budget control
Transparency for businesses
(procurement)

Opportunities Threats
Higher cost efficiency Corruption
New business

Political aspects related to e-governance include strategies and policies, laws and

legislation, leadership, decision making processes, funding issues, international affairs,

and political stability.

Political aspects
Combination with democratisation Budget
reforms Lack of cyber laws
Internet as pull factor No problem owner within government
Modern image Slow decision making process
Hierarchical structures
Short term approach due to elections
Integration and reform

Raise external funding Bureaucracy
Show competitive edge Piracy, misuse
Transparency causes natural change of Corruption
processes Maintaining disorder, no transparency
Reinvent government Political instability
Resistance

17

Examples of some social aspects of related to e-governance are people, (level of)

education, employment, income, digital divide, rural areas vs. cities, rich vs. poor,

literacy, IT skills.

Social aspects
People eager to learn IT skills Basic education poor
Skilled people possible export product Low literacy
IT literacy
Different languages
Public acceptance of self-service models
Skill shortage: competition with private sector

Employment increases Brain drain IT skilled people after training
Education system improve Influence of other cultures
People get structural job Resistance of people
Cheap manpower widely available Digital divide
Promotion of Internet Privacy

Technological aspects involve software, hardware, infrastructure, telecom, IT skilled

people, maintenance, safety and security issues.

Technological aspects
Everything is new: no negative legacy Shortage IT skills
Leapfrogging possible High cost of internet
Internet as pull factor Heterogeneous data
Lack of IT standards? Lack of IT standards?
Software licenses

18

2nd hand hardware available Dependency of technology
Use one standard

External Strategic Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS)

External Strategic Factors Weight Rating Weighted Comments
Score
OPPORTUNITIES
Reinvent government .15 5 .75
Employment increases .10 4 .40
2nd hand hardware available .05 4 .20
Education system improve .10 3 .30
New business .10 4 .40
THREATS
Dependency on technology .05 2 .10 Rain: system down
Piracy, misuse .05 2 .10
Influence of other cultures .15 3 .45
Privacy .05 2 .10
Corruption .20 4 .80 Viruses, hacking
Total 1.00 3.60

Internal Strategic Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS)

Internal Strategic Factors Weight Rating Weighted Comments
Score
STRENGTHS
Everything is new: no negative .20 4 .80 Leapfrogging
legacy possible
Internet as a pull factor .10 5 .50
People eager to learn IT .05 2 .10
Combination with public sector .05 2 .10
reforms
Transparency in process .10 3 .30
WEAKNESSES
High cost of internet .10 4 .40
Lack of IT standards .10 3 .30 Lack of cyber laws
Skill shortage: competition with .05 2 .10 IT literacy
private sector
Software license .10 2 .20
Budget control, investors .15 3 .45

19

Total 1.00 3.25

Above rating is given on the basis of observation and survey where 1 (poor) and 5

(outstanding). According to it implementation of e-governance is at satisfactory level in

Pakistan.

CONCLUSIN:

If electronic technology is changing all aspects of society, from the levers of economic

and social growth to citizens' expectations of government, governments have no choice

but to respond and adapt in order to remain effective and relevant.

Recognizing the power of information and communications technology (ICT), Pakistan

can promote it as a way of helping businesses improve efficiency, create jobs and reduce

poverty.

ICT’s has already shown its potency in increasing the productivity and effectiveness of

organizations. Now it is necessary to manage it properly so that it can influence the

competitive position of industry in all sectors of economy. The use of ICT is fundamental

to linking organizational functions. It can form the base for managing in a technology

environment.

20

Government's anti-corruption drive will also be given boost through e-governance

because it will bring openness and transparency in government affairs. Every ministry

and division would be mandated to register information about their procurements and

other affairs at the government portal by the use of e-governance.

The ultimate test is whether governments can use e-governance as a technology to

operate more efficiently, to design and implement better policies, and to provide

programs and services more effectively.

REFERENCES

Government of Malaysia (1997), “The Civil Service of Malaysia: Building an IT
Culture:” Malaysia.

Tarek M. Khalil, (2000), Management of Technology: The key to competitiveness and
wealth creation, Mc Graw Hill Co - Singapore.

Betz, Frederick. (1987), Managing Technology: Competing through New Ventures,
Innovation, and Corporate Research, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Bhagwan, V., and V, Bhushan., (1987), Public Administration, 5th edition, S. Chand &
Company ltd, New Delhi.

Caiden, Gerald, (1971), The Dynamics of Public Administration: Guidelines to Current
Transformation in Theory and Practice, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

Charles worth, James C., (1968), Theory and Scope of Public Administration: Scope,
Objectives and Methods, Monograph 8, American Academy of Political and Social
Sciences, Philadelphia.

Gortner, H.F., (1981), Administration in the Public Sector, 2nd edition, John Wiley &
Sons, New York.

Kaufman, Herbert, (1976), Are Government Organizations Immortal? Brookings
Institution, Washington, D.C.

Osborne, D., and P. Plastrik, Banishing Bureaucracy - the five strategies for reinventing
Government, Addison Wesley Publishing Company, Inc, New York.

21

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